José Lourenço de Magalhães was born in the city of Estância in the State of Sergipe on September 11, 1831. His father was Romão Lourenço de Magalhães, while his mother was called Antônia Isabel Fernandes.
He studied at the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia, where he graduated in 1856 after defending a thesis named “How do we recognize the cadaver we have before us as belonging to an individual who died by drowning?”.
Shortly afterwards, he spent periods of time in France and Germany with the aim of enhancing his knowledge on ophthalmology. Over the following years, Dr. Magalhães would travel to Europe frequently, and thanks to his papers and articles on leprosy, became somewhat of a celebrated name both in Brazil and abroad.
The physician and scholar played an important role during the 1863 cholera epidemic and was later honored for his efforts. He was elected as a Full Member of the Imperial Academy of Medicine and was sworn in on April 21, 1885, thereafter, being appointed President in 1895.
Also at the same institution, Dr. Magalhães amassed several positions in its board of directors and received the title of Correspondent Member in 1902.
Dr. Magalhães held several medical practices in ophthalmology in the cities of Estância, Laranjeiras, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Furthermore, he was appointed as a Correspondent of the Competitive Medical Society of Paris, as well as Correspondent of an important Parisian ophthalmology journal of the time.
He wrote important pieces of work on the conditions of beriberi, malaria, and on numerous ophthalmology-related topics of particular interest during the 19th century. Moreover, the doctor and academician held the position of Dean of the now discontinued Colônia de Guapira Hospital (today, the São Luiz Gonzaga Hospital) for treating individuals suffering from leprosy.
In his native city of Estância, Dr. Magalhães served as a Health Delegate, Chief of Police and Lieutenant Colonel at the headquarters of the then Brazilian National Guard.
In addition, he took on the position of regional congressman, a role he served from 1862 to 1896, and of President of the now terminated Sociedade Fraternidade Sergipana (Sergipana Fraternal Society) in the State of Bahia.
In the early 1890s, Dr. José Lourenco de Magalhães became a steadfast opponent of the concept of the contagiousness of leprosy and believed that the disease could be cured, after having employed his own therapeutic approach to treat lepers since 1878. Backed by numerous scientific papers under which he strongly upheld his theories and fought concepts regarding the bacterial spread of the disease, Dr. Magalhães published a book called “A Morféia no Brasil” (“Morphea in Brazil) in 1882, followed, three years later, by a work titled “A Curabilidade da Morféia”) (“The Curability of Morphea”).
In these publications, in addition to advocating a cure for leprosy, the physician and intellectual discussed a new therapeutic approach which he was hesitant to publish since he felt it was anti-scientific. A firm follower and defender of the educational pillars of medicine of the time that dispelled any kind of abstract or vague theories, Dr. Magalhães stood by his own method and argued that he did not believe that clinical methods could alone put an end to the disease, as opposed to sanitation efforts.
Dr. José Lourenço de Magalhães passed away on November 23, 1905, in the city of São Paulo.
Número acadêmico: 139
Membro: Titular
Eleição: 21/04/1885
Posse: 21/04/1885
Sob a presidência: Agostinho José de Souza Lima
Falecimento: 23/11/1905
Número acadêmico: 139
Membro: Titular
Eleição: 21/04/1885
Posse: 21/04/1885
Sob a presidência: Agostinho José de Souza Lima
Falecimento: 23/11/1905
José Lourenço de Magalhães was born in the city of Estância in the State of Sergipe on September 11, 1831. His father was Romão Lourenço de Magalhães, while his mother was called Antônia Isabel Fernandes.
He studied at the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia, where he graduated in 1856 after defending a thesis named “How do we recognize the cadaver we have before us as belonging to an individual who died by drowning?”.
Shortly afterwards, he spent periods of time in France and Germany with the aim of enhancing his knowledge on ophthalmology. Over the following years, Dr. Magalhães would travel to Europe frequently, and thanks to his papers and articles on leprosy, became somewhat of a celebrated name both in Brazil and abroad.
The physician and scholar played an important role during the 1863 cholera epidemic and was later honored for his efforts. He was elected as a Full Member of the Imperial Academy of Medicine and was sworn in on April 21, 1885, thereafter, being appointed President in 1895.
Also at the same institution, Dr. Magalhães amassed several positions in its board of directors and received the title of Correspondent Member in 1902.
Dr. Magalhães held several medical practices in ophthalmology in the cities of Estância, Laranjeiras, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Furthermore, he was appointed as a Correspondent of the Competitive Medical Society of Paris, as well as Correspondent of an important Parisian ophthalmology journal of the time.
He wrote important pieces of work on the conditions of beriberi, malaria, and on numerous ophthalmology-related topics of particular interest during the 19th century. Moreover, the doctor and academician held the position of Dean of the now discontinued Colônia de Guapira Hospital (today, the São Luiz Gonzaga Hospital) for treating individuals suffering from leprosy.
In his native city of Estância, Dr. Magalhães served as a Health Delegate, Chief of Police and Lieutenant Colonel at the headquarters of the then Brazilian National Guard.
In addition, he took on the position of regional congressman, a role he served from 1862 to 1896, and of President of the now terminated Sociedade Fraternidade Sergipana (Sergipana Fraternal Society) in the State of Bahia.
In the early 1890s, Dr. José Lourenco de Magalhães became a steadfast opponent of the concept of the contagiousness of leprosy and believed that the disease could be cured, after having employed his own therapeutic approach to treat lepers since 1878. Backed by numerous scientific papers under which he strongly upheld his theories and fought concepts regarding the bacterial spread of the disease, Dr. Magalhães published a book called “A Morféia no Brasil” (“Morphea in Brazil) in 1882, followed, three years later, by a work titled “A Curabilidade da Morféia”) (“The Curability of Morphea”).
In these publications, in addition to advocating a cure for leprosy, the physician and intellectual discussed a new therapeutic approach which he was hesitant to publish since he felt it was anti-scientific. A firm follower and defender of the educational pillars of medicine of the time that dispelled any kind of abstract or vague theories, Dr. Magalhães stood by his own method and argued that he did not believe that clinical methods could alone put an end to the disease, as opposed to sanitation efforts.
Dr. José Lourenço de Magalhães passed away on November 23, 1905, in the city of São Paulo.